By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Just off of Highway 51 near the I-10 entrance is Woodland Drive, a normal-looking roadway that runs through a series of residential subdivisions. What does not look normal, however, are the abandoned toilets, used tires, gas cans and other waste items that line the swampy mush Woodland Drive rests on.

This prompted LaPlace resident Steve Orgeron to take action. Orgeron, a nearby resident to Woodland, felt the need to do something about it for the safety of his daughter.

&#8220I come through this neighborhood all the time to bring my daughter to daycare,” Orgeron said. &#8220I can’t believe nobody in this area hasn’t complained about people dumping out here. It’s ridiculous.”

Orgeron contacted Councilman Steve Roussel in an attempt to rectify the situation. Roussel assures work orders are in place for everything the parish can clean but it’s a law enforcement issue now. Public Works is in charge of maintaining public property according to Roussel but private property is a much different situation.

&#8220After attempts have been made to contact the property owners about cleaning their property then we can clean it up and send them an invoice,” Roussel said.

According to St. John Director of Planning and Zoning, Adrienne Labat, most of the area of Woodland that is cluttered with garbage is private property

&#8220Nothing can be removed from private property without a court order,” Labat said.

The former B&B Food Mart at 700 Woodland drive is a particular eyesore. The parking lot of the convenient store, which closed shortly around the time of the storm, according to Orgeron, is nearly covered in rubbish including old mattresses, discarded clothing, furniture and various trash strewn about.

The owners of B&B, a New Orleans based company named Tassle, Inc., could not be reached for comment. This was not surprising to Roussel, however, who offered another side to the problem at hand.

&#8220We can clean it up and send them an invoice, but these people aren’t going to pay it,” Roussel said. &#8220Another part of the problem is that residents are dumping in their own neighborhoods. We can clean it, but we can’t make them stop dumping.”

St. John Sheriff’s Office Chief Harold Klibert said they are unaware of any illegal dumping activity in the Woodland vicinity and nearby surrounding areas and have received no complaints but they will be sending officers to inspect the area.